- Call tapped by Russian spies after officials used an unsecured phone line
- The breach could jeopardize arms supplies from Britain and France to Ukraine
A German air force chief has revealed secret British operations in Ukraine after discussing highly sensitive military secrets over a telephone line.
A telephone conversation between Lieutenant General Ingo Gerhartz and senior Luftwaffe officers was overheard by Russian spies after they used an unsecured telephone line to discuss military planning.
The talks included confirmation that the British military has been deployed to Ukraine and key details about the transport of British Storm Shadow missiles to the country.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz confirmed that a recording released by Russia’s state broadcaster was authentic and described the security breach as “very serious.”
The breach could jeopardize arms shipments from Britain and France to Ukraine and hamper Kiev’s crucial use of cruise missiles in the war against Russia.
Britain and other NATO allies will be shocked by the security blunder as they increasingly view Germany as unreliable.
A telephone conversation between Lieutenant General Ingo Gerhartz (photo) and senior Luftwaffe officers was tapped by Russian spies
The talks include confirmation that the British army will be deployed in Ukraine (photo: British troops take part in military exercises in Poland)
Russia intercepted the 38-minute conversation between Lt. Gerhartz and three senior officers on February 19 after they used standard videoconferencing software instead of an encrypted line.
The head of Russian state broadcaster RT, Margarita Simonyan, published the audio recording on messaging app Telegram on Friday.
According to a Russian transcript of the call, the head of the German air force said: “When we are asked about delivery methods, I know how the British do it. They always transport them in armored Ridgeback vehicles. There are several people on the ground.’
Gerhartz also explained during the call how the French are “sending (Audi) Q7s loaded with Scalp missiles to Ukraine.”
The revelations in this second security blunder will help Russian intelligence detect and locate such vehicles in Europe and on the territory of Ukraine.
Gerhartz further added that Britain had equipped Ukrainian aircraft with Storm Shadows and could assist with the transfer of Taurus missiles to Ukraine.
Germany is considering sending 100 of its 600 Taurus missiles to Kviv in two batches of 50, according to the air chief.
Gerhartz says this is to ensure that the missile “will not change the course of hostilities.”
He added: “That’s why we don’t want to send them all. And not all in one batch. We can send fifty missiles first and then give them fifty more. This is perfectly clear, but this is big politics.
“I have heard from my French and British colleagues that the situation with the Storm Shadow and Scalp missiles is the same.”
The missiles have a range of 500 km and the officers were heard talking about targets the Ukrainians could hit with them, such as Russian ammunition depots and the Kerch Bridge to Crimea.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz confirmed that a recording released by Russia’s state broadcaster was authentic and described the security breach as “very serious.”
Germany considers sending 100 of its 600 Taurus missiles (pictured) to Ukraine in two batches of 50
German politicians said Russia leaked the conversation to pressure the chancellor not to deliver the Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine.
Scholz has so far refused to send the missiles, which are similar to Britain’s Storm Shadow, amid political divisions in the country.
Former Defense Secretary Ben Wallace told the Times: “We know that Germany is quite penetrated by Russian intelligence services, so it just shows that they are neither safe nor reliable.”
The Ministry of Defense declined to comment.